The water ski tow rope retriever of the instant invention is designed for use on the aft portion of a boat behind which water skiers are to be pulled. Conventionally, one or more water ski ropes are pulled behind a boat and each rope is approximately 75 feet in length. When a water skier falls, the boat operator conventionally turns his boat and pilots it back to the fallen skier and then must navigate his boat in a manner to "bring" the free end of the tow rope to the skier in the water before water skiing may be resumed. During this time, the trailing of a 75 foot length of tow rope behind a boat constitutes a hazard to navigation of nearby boats. Further, when a plurality of skiers are being pulled behind a boat and one of the skiers fall, it then becomes very difficult for the operator of the boat to return to the skiers (the remaining skiers usually "dropping off" when one of their party falls) without the plurality of tow ropes becoming entangled and for the operator of the boat to position all of the trailed tow ropes in a manner such that they may be retrieved by the skiers in the water. Also, each time a skiing operation is terminated, the tow rope or ropes being used must be retrieved and coiled for storage and the storage of a plurality of coiled tow ropes on a boat without causing entanglement of the ropes is difficult.
Accordingly, a need exists for structure whereby one or more water ski tow ropes may be readily retrieved and supported from the transom of the associated tow boat in readiness to be subsequently quickly extended whenever a skiing operation is to be initiated.
Although various forms of water ski tow rope and other rope retrievers have been heretofore designed, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,085,543, 3,100,606, 3,195,831, 3,456,891, 3,813,055, and 3,886,888, these previously known rope retrievers have, for various reasons, not proven to be operative to perform all of the desired functions of a water ski tow rope retriever.